Till Death Do We Part
by jupiter101
Summary: River and his twin sister Brooklyn have lived in District Four all their lives until their final reaping when not one but both are chosen to be the tributes from their district. They swear to each other they'd never kill or hurt the other, but somebody has to win.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 **Brooklyn**

 _This is it._ I told myself. The final reaping before my name would never again be in the bowl of tributes in District Four's central plaza. Never again would I be at risk of going to the arena. Of fighting in the Hunger Games. One more horrid day of anticipation and dread and sadness for the tribute's family and guilty happiness that I wasn't chosen and then I'd be done forever.

My family wasn't poor and I'd never had to take tesserae but we didn't have tons of money either. My mother was a servant for a richer family and my brother River and I worked on the docks all day, hauling fish and coiling rope and weaving nets. Once these games were over, my mother would never have to worry about losing her children again. She had enough on her mind. I turned to my dresser where an old image of her and my dad stood. My mother Kalei looked exactly as I do now, with her long blond hair and sea blue eyes. My father, who'd been reaped for the Hunger Games soon after he'd impregnated my mother, was wild-haired and green-eyed, like River. My mother spoke dreamily of him sometimes, and I wish I could have met him. He sounded exactly like me before he left: adventurous and confident and smart.

From my description, you would think he died. But he did so much worse: he survived and won the games but got too caught up in the fame and fortune being a tribute in the Capitol brings. So he never came home and broke my mother's heart. A few months after he'd won, she had given birth to River and me but was never the same again. Some people called her crazy, but to me, she's just a woman wishing for her true love to come back.

I faced the mirror and ran a brush through my hair. It was straight and long and bleached blond from so many days in the sun. While most girls in Four wanted to look their best for Reapings, I had decided long ago these awful days didn't deserve dressing up for. Instead, I pulled on simple trousers, a dark tank top, and my well-worn leather jacket. My hair went back into a high ponytail, blond curls falling from the band to frame my face. Pushing my feet into my boots, I left my small room.

Downstairs, River and my mom sat at the table. Like the caring son he was, River had made a full breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon, which was a rare delicacy for us. The smell of frying meat and coffee filled my nose. My mom was stirring her coffee and staring off into space. When I entered the room, her blue eyes fixed on mine.

"Brook, listen to me!" I was shocked by her ferocity. River seemed equally confused, half rising from his seat. "You can't be picked. You have to survive. For me. For your father."

I smiled awkwardly. "I'll try, mom." With her, it was best not to argue.

She grabbed my arms. "Brook, you must survive. Be strong. Be brave. My daughter."

I looked straight at her and tried to sound as promising as I could. "Don't worry. I'll be okay."

She released me and left the room. River stared after her for a second then turned to me, looking worried. 'What was that?"

"I don't know," I responded.

He stood and faced me. While neither of us said a thing, we both had the same thought. This was just the latest in a long string of weird, crazy things our mother had done.

River spoke. "After the reapings, why don't we see if we can find somebody who could care for her. We're both so busy but maybe somebody would be willing to work with her. Until she's better." It was a nice idea but we both knew she was never getting better.

I touched his arm after a moment. It was smooth and warm and so familiar. His palms were calloused and rough but even those I could recognize with a simple touch. "Let's go," I said. "We don't want to be late."

 **River**

The smell of fish brine hit my nose as soon as I pulled open the door. We lived close enough to the harbor that the smell was a constant part of my life. Brooklyn pulled the door shut behind us. If our mom was coming, she'd find her own way. But I would be surprised if she would remember to show up.

We hurried down the wide seaside boulevard as the Reapings bell began to chime, signaling us to hurry up. Turning left away from the frothing ocean, Brook and I made our way to District Four's main plaza, where the Reapings always took place. A peacekeeper waved us into the line of eighteen-year-olds waiting to enter. Somebody stabbed a needle into my arm to collect the blood sample.

"River Cassidy?" they asked.

"Yes," I said and they waved me onward. Rejoining Brook, we took our places with the other kids our age.

It took another ten minutes to get everyone into the right place before the peacekeepers quieted everyone and began the video. It was standard, and so dull I barely managed to stay awake during it. Apparently, we needed to be reminded every year about why we had to send our district's youth to fight each other to the death in a horrid arena for the entertainment of those who'd won the birth lottery.

Finally, District Four's representative in the capital, Elleston Ruby, made his way onto the stage, followed by District Four's only other winner besides my father. Tjara Max was dressed simply in a pale lavender blouse and pants, made simple by Elleston's ruby encrusted suit, taken from his name.

"Silence!" Elleston roared, shushing the already quiet mass of people. He rushed through the normal Reapings Day speech, ending with a "Happy Hunger Games!"

I grabbed Brook's hand while he and Tjara made their way, one to each bowl. District Four had two large screens above the stage where the two tribute's names would be projected.

Brook glanced at me but didn't say anything, then returned her gaze to the stage. Her hair caught the sunlight and sparkled like gold. She was incredibly beautiful, but her tough, down to earth manner pushed most people away.

I shook these thoughts from my mind; Elleston and Tjara had chosen the slips and were unfolding the paper, slowly to increase suspense. Like everyone else in the plaza, I looked up at the screens.

"And the tributes from District Four will be…" Elleston said. And two names appeared on the board. I didn't realize the first one was my name because I was too busy staring in horror at the second. Brooklyn Cassidy.

My sister and I were going to the arena together, where only one of us could survive.


	2. The Reapings

**Chapter 2**

 **Brooklyn**

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. While I'd always known I could be chosen for the games, I'd promised myself my chances were so low that I was almost certainly safe.

And River, his name was up there too. He would be in danger too. We would be in the arena together. I knew I was strong and smart and had a fighting chance but because I did, I was sentencing my beloved, gentle brother to die. Only one of us, maybe, would survive.

And my mother. What would happen to her? With both children gone, no one would be able to help her, to hide her craziness. She would be taken away for sure.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I almost didn't notice the peacekeepers who grabbed my arms and marched me onto the stage. I tripped going up the stairs, my boot catching on the uneven metal. I hear River's gasps, his promises we would be fine. But nothing he could say would convince me. We were not going to be fine. We wouldn't be coming home. I swallowed, my throat dry, and turned to look at him. He wasn't struggling, just hanging limply. He reached his hand towards mine but was yanked away as we were dragged to the center of the platform. Tjara looked sympathetic, Elleston looked bored. I could faintly hear the crowd's gasps and murmurs and knew they felt for our plight.

"Would anyone like to volunteer as tribute for Brooklyn Cassidy?" Elleston asked. I took a deep breath. No one said anything. This was supposed to be a career district. Why was no one volunteering? I looked out of the crowd. Most people looked sad, but none willing to take our places.

"River Cassidy?" No one.

"Then I present to you, District Four's tributes for the Twenty-seventh annual Hunger Games!"

I realized then I should be struggling. I was a fighter, not a coward. These people were forcing a brother and sister to kill each other. As uniformed men grabbed my arms, I closed my fist and punched as hard as I could. My hand connected with something squishy. A second later, a groan burst forth from someone and my left arm was released. Seeing a booted foot in the corner of my vision, I stomped down as hard as I could, earning a howl of pain. I wasn't sure what I was trying to accomplish but it felt good to struggle, to show the world Brooklyn Cassidy wouldn't be going down without a fight.

 **River**

I've never felt prouder of my sister than when she punched the daylights out of that peacekeeper. She'd always been a fighter, never one for following the rules so naturally, she wouldn't let them take her. It was a short-lived victory. After a few more good hits, a large man hit Brook with a stun gun, knocking her out instantly.

As we were dragged from the stage, my eyes met my mother's. I was momentarily shocked to see her there, but got over it. Although I couldn't hear what she was saying, I could read lips pretty well.

 _Protect her._ Over and over.

I nodded before a peacekeeper yanked me down the stairs, causing me to trip and flail like a fish in a net. I heard snickers from someone behind me as my hand came in contact with the sharp metal edge of the stairs, splitting my palm open. The smell of salty blood flooded my nose. Gritting my teeth, I got to my feet and obediently followed the officers into the back of the truck, ignoring the sharp pang in my hand.

As the doors closed behind me, I caught a glimpse of someone… my mother, rushing towards the truck, a look of desperation on her face. She was fighting tooth and claw against the peacekeepers trying to restrain her, screaming, "My babies! You can't take them away!" I heard the crack of a gun and watched her eyes go dark, her body limp, as a bubble of red blossomed against the pale skin of her forehead. Then the doors shut, leaving me in darkness.

 **Chapter 2.5**

 **The Tributes**

D1F: Glory (17, Career)

D1M: Shade (18, Career)

D2F: Olivia (15, Career)

D2M: Rex (18, Career)

D3F: Annella (15, allied with Sori)

D3M: Nolen (14, Career)

D4F: Brooklyn (18, Career)

D4M: River (17, allied with Emmelie and Carter)

D5F: Sori (14, allied with Annella)

D5M: Attorius (15, loner)

D6F: Emmelie (13, allied with River and Carter)

D6M: Carter (17, allied with Emmelie and River)

D7F: Tori (17, loner)

D7M: Maxon (16, allied with Anagi)

D8F: Catarina (13, allied with Enna, Rahnil, and Wren)

D8M: Anagi (14, allied with Maxon)

D9F: Amber (12, loner)

D9M: Salvatore (14, loner)

D10F: Enna (14, allied with Rahnil, Wren, and Catarina)

D10M: Rahnil (16, allied with Enna, Wren, and Catarina)

D11F: Tess (12, loner)

D11M: Wren (18, allied with Rahnil, Catarina, and Enna)

D12F: Indigo (16, allied with Ember)

D12M: Ember (17, allied with Indigo)

 **FYI: I'm too lazy to come up with last names for all of them. Sorry. But River and Brook's last name is Cassidy, even though that has nothing to do with fishing.**


	3. The Train Ride

**Chapter Three**

 **The Train Ride**

 **Quick Note: I'm usually only writing from Brook and River's point of view to make it easier for all of you. I always get confused who's who when I'm reading from twenty-four different points of view although occasionally, I might throw someone else in to add a little more detail, like Tjara down below. Let me know what you think of 'Till Death Do We Part' so far!**

 **Brooklyn**

I awoke slowly. For a second, I was confused. Why was I in a fancy bed in an unfamiliar room, the whole thing jerking slightly, as if we were moving? Where was Mom and River and District Four? Then everything came flooding back to me: the Reapings, my struggles, getting knocked out by a stun gun. Right. How could I forget?

I sat up, then groaned loudly as a bolt of pain ricocheted through my head. Who knew going unconscious and knocking your head against cement could be so painful?

There was a knock at the door. "Brook? It's River. Are you awake?" My wonderful, caring, undeserving of having to brutally fight to the death in an arena with twenty-three other kids brother.

"Come in," I said, my voice raspy. He entered, looking concerned. His hair was mussed and there were dark bags under his eyes.

"Are you okay? You fell pretty hard." River asked, coming to sit beside me.

Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I barely sustained another groan. "I'm wonderful. It's not like I'm gonna murder a bunch of innocent kids next week."

He was silent for a long time, making me feel bad for my harsh words.

"Glad to see you're just fine." He's used to my sarcasm.

"Where are we?" I asked, glancing around my room. It was small, with wood paneling. Beyond my bed, the only other furniture was a little table with a lamp. It smelled of Capitol perfume, a flowery scent I despised.

"On the train to the Capitol," River replied. "If you're done sleeping, Tjara Max wants to see you."

"Fine," I mutter, moving to stand up. A harsh throb of pain, like a spike being pounded into my forehead, prevented me from doing so. I collapsed to the floor, my vision filling with black spots. The wood underneath my hands was cool and smooth, unlike the rough panels our home is made up of.

"Brook!" River cried, leaping to my side. "What… I thought?-"

"I'm fine," I grimaced, ruining the effect of my words.

"I'm gonna get you some painkillers and sleep meds," River said anxiously.

"No!" I nearly shouted. "I'm a Career tribute, Riv. I've gotta learn how to deal with pain!" He didn't say anything as I asked, "Now, where did you say Tjara was?"

 **River**

I watched on worriedly as Brook staggered down the hall, stopping every few seconds to rest her head against the wall. She'd see me looking, glare, and start up her uneven gait every time.

All my life I'd cared for my wild, carefree sister. I helped her out of tough moments and taken the blame when she'd gotten in trouble. Brook was very anti-Capitol and was not afraid to say it. She violently disagreed with the Hunger Games and the Capitol's oppression. I knew what happened to people who didn't do what President Sapphire Darke wanted them to do and it wasn't pretty. I never wanted my sister to have to go through that, but in just a few short days, we'd both be in the worst punishment of all. Sure, District Four was a Career district and many did train for the games but unlike One and Two, no one wanted to be in them. It went against every instinct I knew to not help her, but I knew she was right. If the other tributes found out how she reacted to pain, Brook would never be taken as a serious competitor.

And what she'd said about being a Career? I hadn't really thought about it, but I'd always assumed we'd stick together, be our own alliance. But I guess she didn't want that. That thought hurt more than any words could've. Brook didn't want me. She wanted to be with the stronger, braver, better fighters. And who wouldn't? Brook had always believed in taking risks, going big or going home. So I guess joining the Careers would be the best way to do it.

I sighed and rested my head against the wall. Up ahead, Brook had reached the lounge area of the train car, where I could here Tjara and Elleston's muted voices. I knew they'd be advising her to stick with the Careers for a little while, then kill them all in their sleep and go loner, hunting down as many tributes as possible. While we'd both had fighting lessons in short and long-range weapons, Brook had excelled in them much more than I had. I figured my best bet was to use my survival skills, as well as learn something likes traps or poisons. I didn't think about what would happen if it came down to me and Brook. I couldn't, wouldn't think about it.

 **Tjara Max**

I leaned against the back of my seat and smoothed my jacket, my fingers catching a little on the engraved buttons. To my left was fellow District Four mentor Elleston Ruby, although he'd never had and probably never would be much help to the tributes. I've been a mentor for five years, since my own games, yet I'd never mentored a victor. I'd watched ten tributes, most of whom I'd grown to love in just a few short days, get brutally murdered in the arena. And now, I would watch a brother and sister get set against each other, thanks to the whims of those in the Capitol.

Deep breath, I told myself. If I got thinking about little Alix and sweet Cove and everyone else, I would never be able to help Brooklyn and River. I focused on what was happening right now, pulling myself from the past. The train car smelled of sweat and antiseptic, masked by the scent of cinnamon and sugar rising off the pile of pastries on a table in the corner. A red cloaked Avox offered us a tray of fizzy pink Capitol drinks, which I turned down. Elleston accepted one before he went back to stuffing his face full of buttery pastries.

I shuttered and turned my attention back to the siblings sitting in front of me. We'd already decided Brooklyn's best bet was to stick with the Careers. She was brave, adventurous, and talented at fighting, especially with tridents and spears. River Cassidy was harder. He was smart and had a decent knowledge of how to survive in the wild, but lacked specialized fighting skills. The Careers would never accept him, so his only choices were to go loner or make an alliance. I figured he would have no problem making alliances, so that's what I suggested to him.

He nodded thoughtfully. "That could work. If someone else in the alliance is more of a fighter, I could be valuable for what I know about surviving. Also, I was thinking that during the training days, I could learn something like traps or poisons."

"That's a good idea." I agreed.

As the two left the room, I noticed Brooklyn was staggering a little. Almost subconsciously, River held out his arm, which she accepted.

"They'll never win," Elleston grunted, surprising me out of my reverie. "He's too soft and she's too crazy."

I looked at him. "I'm not so sure about that."


	4. Training

**Chapter Four**

 **River**

Although it was night when our train rumbled into the station next to the Tribute Building, the city was lit up with enough lights to make it feel like it was daytime. Faintly I could hear music and laughter from the hundreds of parties, which infuriated me. How dare they celebrate our deaths. Our becoming of murderers. Our pointless slaughters. I slammed my fist against the fogged glass, which did nothing but make my hand hurt.

I took a deep breath. Nothing I could say or do would change these silly Capitol people. I needed to save my anger for when I was in the arena. A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. It was Tjara and Brook.

"This is the Tribute building," Tjara said distantly, gesturing out the window.

"Let's go," Brook demanded. "I want to start training. We only have a few days."

I stood up and followed Tjara and Brook down the hall to the end of the train car. An Avox helped us down onto the platform, where we were shepherded indoors. It was cold inside the building and smelled sterile. Brook wrinkled her nose in distaste as our Avox guide pushed a button to call an elevator.

Our first stop was the Training Center, only one floor above the station. Tjara showed us around to all the different stations, though we weren't allowed to touch anything. The room was massive, with thirty-foot ceilings. There were several different sections, like fighting, climbing, shooting, or survival skills. A huge chunk of the wall had been carved away to create a ledge that the Gamemakers would sit at. The whole room was dark and cold and gave me the shivers. Brook was clearly excited at all the different things to try though and ran from station to station, oohing and aahing. I held back a little but secretly was impressed by all the stuff. The next stop was the floor reserved for the tributes from District Four. There was a massive sitting room, with several long couches and a huge screen for broadcast. Beyond the sitting room were a smaller kitchen and dining room, a fancy bathroom, and two bedrooms. It was bigger than ten homes back in Four combined, and three times as fancy. Our rooms were all complimentary colors and fancy glass sculptures and I couldn't help but admire it.

"What do you think?" Tjara asked. I wondered how many people she'd shown these rooms just weeks before they died.

"It's pretty sweet," I said, trying to take it all in. "If we're gonna die, at least we should have a nice last few days."

Tjara laughed sadly. "You must be tired. Why don't you two get some rest and tomorrow, bright and early, we'll head to the training center."

Brook and I nodded and headed to our respective rooms. I relaxed against the incredible softness of the bed and tried to fall asleep but to no avail. Eventually, I stood up and walked over to the double doors on the other side of my room. Pushing them open revealed a balcony with an amazing view of the Capitol. But it wasn't the sight that caught my eye, but Brook, sitting against the side of the building. She was shaking a little, and her head was buried in her hands. I realized she was crying, and just stood there shocked for a moment. Brook never cried. Never. Eventually, I walked over and soundlessly put my arm around her. Brook sniffed and leaned her head against my shoulder. Our silent tears fell together, creating wet spots on the sanded wood, as we hugged each other close all night long.

 **Brooklyn**

After a quick breakfast of fruit and toast, Tjara, River, and I headed down to the Training Center. I couldn't help but think about what had happened last night, how River and I had both broken down, united in our misery. I knew we both hated the splendor and fanciness of the Capitol, preferring the rough sand and sea of home.

When we entered the Training Room, there were only a few other tributes milling around. Most were in small groups, clumping together around a station. My first order of business would be to find the other Careers and figure out what their strengths were. Yesterday, on the train ride here, I'd watched some of the Reapings so I had a general idea of who to look for. The two from One, Glory and Shade, were both definitely Careers, as was the girl for two. All three had volunteered so I knew they were in. The boy from Two I wasn't sure about because he was Reaped, not volunteered. He'd refused Two's chosen volunteer though, so I figured he was with us.

I spotted Shade, from One, over by the swords. He was viciously slashing away at a dummy with a huge double-edged sword, tearing away at its limbs, before stabbing it where its heart would've been.

"He's quite good, isn't he?" A voice said in my ear. I whirled around to see Glory standing there, smirking evilly. "You're Brooklyn, from Four, right?"

"Uh, yeah," I responded, still a little freaked out.

"Are you a Career?"

Be strong, I reminded myself. The Careers don't want wimpy, weak tributes. "What do you think?"

"Eh, you look a little shrimpy to be one," she said, still grinning her malicious smile.

I snarled at her. "Do you wanna fight?"  
Her smile grew larger. "I'd thought you'd never ask." We both reached for our weapons at the same time. I grabbed a three-pronged trident; Glory yanked a spear from a rack. The other tributes stopped what they were doing and turned to watch. I saw Tjara in the corner of my eye, mouthing at me to stop but I ignored her. This girl thought I didn't belong with the Careers. I'd show her. I'd prove I'm not someone to be played with.

Glory lunged at me. I dodged easily and pushed my trident towards her side as she charged past. The tallest point caught on her shirt and tore it. While the practice weapons weren't sharp enough to cut her badly, I could tell from her grimace I'd hurt her.

"Brook! Stop!" I heard my brother yell. He too I ignored because Glory had sashayed forward and was engaging me with a series of parries and jabs. Using my trident, I defended myself but I could tell she was winning. A sharp smack of her spear sent me spinning sideways, so I almost fell. The next time she stabbed forward, I darted sideways and used my trident to twist her spear away from me. It threw her off balance and allowed me to get a hit in. We went back and forth like this for several minutes, sometimes Glory appeared to be winning and sometimes I did. Unfortunately, after a series of sparring, Glory pinned me down and held her spear to my throat. Her grin was like a viper'.

I heard people in the audience gasp, but I wasn't done yet. Spending so much time around fish, I'd learned a valuable trick. Pretending to give up, I allowed Glory to believe she'd won so she would put her guard down. Then I surged up with all my strength and before she knew it, had reversed our positions, except I didn't let my guard down. Glory choked and struggled, but we'd both knew I'd won.

There was a sharp rap at my shoulder. I looked up to see Rex, District Two's male tribute, glaring down at me. "Get off her," he ordered.

"Since when were you in charge?" I smirked.

"If you want to be a Career, that is," he answered smugly. He had a point.

I leaped from Glory's body, landing like a cat a few feet away. She scrambled to her feet, red-faced, and glared at me. "This isn't over. When we're in the arena, and I'm the only one who could save you, well, don't count on any help."

"Brave words," I said slyly. "But I'm not the one who's gonna need saving in the arena."

 **I'm starting a new Hunger Games story from the point of view of Head Gamemaker. I need tributes and Capitol names so if you're interested, please see my profile or the story, which you can find at 'SYOT OPEN: The Creator: Head Gamemaker's Hunger Games.' Thanks and be sure to review what you think of my story so far!**


	5. The Tribute Parade

**So I realized I'd forgotten to do the Chariot Ride when Brook and River first arrived in the Capitol, so I'm doing it know. I'm just gonna pretend the ride comes after Training, but before the private training sessions, which I'll do in the next chapter.**

 **Chapter Five**

 **Harvest Bane, Capitol Citizen, on the Tribute Parade**

I was so excited! The Hunger Games were my favorite time of year and the Parade was one of the best parts! I had high hopes to be a tribute designer one year so I was determined to soak up all the costumes other stylists had created. Last year, I hadn't been able to get good seats and missed most of it but this year, my best friend Azalea had gotten Cordelia, Hollow, and us front row tickets! I bounced in my seat as I heard the blaring noise that announced the start of the parade. Around me, I could smell sweet candy and salty popcorn and the thousands of flowery perfumes people around me were wearing. Despite the calls for silence, people were still chattering excitedly. Cordelia, to my left, was scarfing down popcorn and anxiously discussing this year's arena to Hollow, who was sitting on her other side. I looked down at the long pathway lined with flowers and candles that the tributes would ride down in just a few minutes.

"I heard the two from District Four are siblings!" Azalea, on my right, announced. Azalea was obsessed with knowing everything one could know about the tributes. "The girl- she's a Career I think- she got in a fistfight with Glory something from District One!"

"Really?" I asked. This was good gossip. I turned to Cordelia and repeated what Azalea had told me to her. Grinning, she spun around to face Hollow and told him what I'd said.

Meanwhile, President Sapphire had appeared at the stage at the end of the bejeweled path. Our seats were pretty close to the gate that the chariots would emerge from so it was difficult to hear what she said, but the gesturing motion she made at the end told me it was starting. Immediately the crowd quieted down and turned its attention to the golden gate. I readied the roses in my hand. I'd bought plenty to make sure I had enough for every tribute.

Then the trumpet sounded and the first chariot rolled out. Everything about the chairot was a glowing, metallic gold, even the horses. The girl, Glory, wore a tight gold dress and a wreath of golden roses and leaves. She sparkled like the jewelry her District made. Her long blond hair was rippling down her back, little curls slipping down to frame her face. She was absolutely gorgeous, and she knew it. She smiled and threw kisses at the crowd and as she turned, I noticed a little bruise on her neck. It was hidden well, but I guessed it was from her fight with the District Four girl. She got a rose from me and all my friends. Her district partner, Shade, was dressed similarly in a gold suit, but lacked the looks to make it look good. The whole time, he was scowling like he just wanted to go kill someone. Only one rose was thrown at him.

A couple seconds later, District Two's chariot rolled out. Both were dressed in sparkling gray outfits I guessed were supposed to represent rocks, as the masonry was their District's thing. The guy, who was really hot, got a lot of roses, the girl got a decent amount.

District Three's tributes were dressed as robots and looked pretty stupid in their gray boxy outfits. The girl got a few pity roses, because she was pretty. The guy got none.

My jaw dropped when District Four's tributes came out. Every guy in the audience screamed when they saw the girl, who's name, Brooklyn, Azalea had just whispered to me; every girl in the audience screamed when they saw her brother, River. She was dressed in a blue dress, made to look like running water, that flowed down her tall, willowy form. A silvery blue, translucent cape fell off her shoulders like a wave crashing on the pale skin of her back. Her blond hair had streaks of blue, the color of her eyes, in it, and was pushed back by a glowing silver crown, making her look like the queen of some underwater kingdom. Her brother looked like the king of her watery realm. He too wore a crown, and was naked from waist up. Their chariot was made to look like a wave, with them riding on. While neither smiled, they looked majestic and powerful. I think everyone in the audience threw each of them at least two roses. Brooklyn caught one, raised it to her nose and delicately inhaled, before thrusting into the air like a sceptor. The crowd screamed when she did this.

I was so busy looking at them I missed the next three chariots, before my eyes finally caught on District Eight's tributes. They both wore fancy clothes, for her a dress and for him a suit, made to look as if they'd been created from many different materials. Meh.

District Nine's female, a young girl who looked scared at the sight of all the people, had a dress woven from grain. She looked like a nature spirit and got several roses. The guy, Salvatore, looked stupid in a farmer costume and got none.

The next chariot, District Ten, rolled out. Normally, their costumes looked bad, as District Ten's thing was livestock, but this years, the stylists had done well. She was dressed as a goose in a feathery white dress. When she raised her arms, huge wings made the audience scream. The male was dressed as a rooster with a multicolor outfit and slightly smaller wings. They both got a lot of roses, for both creativity and beauty.

Trees again. District Eleven's tributes were always trees. I threw the girl a rose because of the nice flower assortment her stylists had arranged in her hair.

Twelve's tributes wore dark, shiny outfits of smooth material that swirled around the two like smoke, giving them a ghostly look. The two, who I'd heard were lovers, looked deadly serious, but were a crowd favorite. Her lipstick and eye makeup were dark, making her look like some sort of ethereal witch. Pretty impressive, and would definitely get a lot of sponsors.

And that was it. The twelve chariots formed a circle around President Sapphire's Balcony, gazing up at her. Most people were staring at the District One, Four, Ten, or Twelve's tributes in awe.

Raising her hands, President Sapphire began her speech and the crowd hushed a little. Since she was too far away for us to hear, Azalea and I raved about our favorite tributes: the ones from District Four.

After she'd finished and the tributes had left, the four of us headed to a party we'd all been invited to. We drank away the evening and watched reruns of this and previous years' tribute parades, drunkenly comparing all of them. Eventually, I fell asleep to the sound of tributes killing each other in previous Hunger Games. What a wonderful day!


	6. The Private Training Sessions

**Chapter Six**

 **Raven Pearl, Head Gamemaker**

 **To:** President Sapphire Darke

 **From:** Raven Pearl, Head Gamemaker

 **Subject:** Notes on Private Training Sessions

 **DISTRICT ONE FEMALE  
NAME: **Glory Crowne

 **SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Spear

 **SUMMARY:** She threw spears at the target, almost always close or on the mark. Through very well, clearly strong. A little reckless and doesn't aim as well as she should.

 **STRENGTHS:** Spear throwing, very strong, career

 **WEAKNESSES:** Reckless, easily angered, no other skills (that she showed) other than spears

 **ODDS:** 12:1

 **SCORE:** 7

 **DISTRICT ONE MALE  
NAME: **Shade Nightingale **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Sword, spear, climbing

 **SUMMARY:** Fenced with our medium level training partner, beat with ease. Fast and quick, fast-thinking. Threw some spears but only hit the target a few times, climbed around for us. **  
STRENGTHS:** Sword fighting, quick, fast-thinking, can climb fast. Seems very smart and calculating.

 **WEAKNESSES:** Smaller, little survival skills, no other weapon skills. Quiet- underestimated. Not likely to get many sponsors.

 **ODDS:** 12:1

 **SCORE:** 9

 **DISTRICT TWO FEMALE  
NAME: **Olivia Mei **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Lasso and whip, bow and arrow, climbing, built a fire **  
SUMMARY:** Quite good with the lasso and whip, destroyed several dummies quickly. Almost as talented at using a bow and arrow. Good at hiding and climbing and built a small fire, though it took her a while. **  
STRENGTHS:** Lasso and whip, small and good at hiding and climbing. Seems very smart. **  
WEAKNESSES:** Would be defeated in close combat, unwilling to kill. Small and easily overpowered, useless without weapons. **  
ODDS:** 10:1 **  
SCORE:** 9

 **DISTRICT TWO MALE  
NAME: **Rex Boulder **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Sword, bow and arrow, identifying edible plants **  
SUMMARY:** Struggled to defeat medium level fencer, lacking in aim with bow and arrow. Identified all plants he tried correctly. **  
STRENGTHS:** Pretty smart, jack-of-all-trades **  
WEAKNESSES:** Not great at anything. Weak, not likely to get sponsors. **  
ODDS:** 35:1 **  
SCORE:** 5

 **DISTRICT THREE FEMALE  
NAME: **Annella Watt **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Survival skills **  
SUMMARY:** Built a fire, correctly identified several plants. Seemed really nervous **  
STRENGTHS:** Survival skills, small, maybe sponsors **  
WEAKNESSES:** No weapon skills, doesn't know how to hide or climb, doubts herself a lot, easy target for Careers. **  
ODDS:** 50:1 **  
SCORE:** 3

 **DISTRICT THREE MALE  
NAME: **Nolen Bright **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Built traps, daggers **  
SUMMARY:** He built several rather complex traps had managed to hit the target a few times with a set of daggers. **  
STRENGTHS:** Very technology inclined, good at building traps, creative, some dagger skills **  
WEAKNESSES:** Underdog in Careers, no hand to hand or long distance weapons, no survival skills. **  
ODDS:** 30:1 **  
SCORE:** 5

 **DISTRICT FOUR FEMALE  
NAME: **Brooklyn Cassidy **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Trident, knives, spears **  
SUMMARY:** Easily defeated hardest level fighter with a trident. Always hit the target and sometimes hit center with knives. Also very good with spears, close combat, and throwing. Very fast runner, climber, and swimmer **  
STRENGTHS:** Trident, spears, swimming, climbing, running. Likely to get sponsors **  
WEAKNESSES:** Enemies with Glory (D1F). Little survival skills. Slightly overconfident. Note: her brother, River, is also in the Games and she will likely try to help him at some point. **  
ODDS:** 6:1 **  
SCORE:** 10

 **DISTRICT FOUR MALE  
NAME: **River Cassidy **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Built traps, identified several plants, built a fire **  
SUMMARY:** He built several simple but good traps, correctly identified almost all the plants, build a fire, pretty good at climbing. Could use a trident pretty well **  
STRENGTHS:** Trap building, survival skills, climbing, trident, physically strong **  
WEAKNESSES:** Little hand to hand or long distance weapon skills other than the trident. Too kind and trusting. Would kill himself for his sister. **  
ODDS:** 25:1 **  
SCORE:** 6

 **DISTRICT FIVE FEMALE  
NAME: **Sori Bolt **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Daggers, bow and arrow **  
SUMMARY:** Did some dagger throwing but not very good at it. Equally lacking in bow and arrow skills. **  
STRENGTHS:** Likely to get pity sponsors, small enough to hide easily **  
WEAKNESSES:** Very little weapon and survival skills. Be seen as an easy target. **  
ODDS:** 100:1 **  
SCORE:** 2

 **DISTRICT FIVE MALE  
NAME: **Attorious Spark **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** bow and arrow, survival skills **  
SUMMARY:** Decent with bow and arrow, built a fire, got a few plants right **  
STRENGTHS:** Bow and arrow, some survival skills **  
WEAKNESSES:** No close contact weapons, might kill himself by eating a poisonous plant. Probably an easy target, not likely to get sponsors **  
ODDS:** 25:1 **  
SCORE:** 6

 **DISTRICT SIX FEMALE  
NAME: **Emmelie Kasan **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Survival skills, hiding, climbing **  
SUMMARY:** Excellent hiding and climbing skills, good at camouflage. Built a fire well and correctly identified all but one of the plants **  
STRENGTHS:** Edible plants, building fires, hiding, climbing **,** good at getting sponsors

 **WEAKNESSES:** Didn't display knowledge of how to use a weapon, considered an easy target, physically small **  
ODDS:** 15:1 **  
SCORE:** 8

 **DISTRICT SIX MALE  
NAME: **Carter Payne **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Sword, survival skills **  
SUMMARY:** Used a sword quite well, demonstrated skills in identifying edible plants **  
STRENGTHS:** Swordplay, knowledge of edible plants, physically big and strong, handsome- good for sponsors **  
WEAKNESSES:** No long-range weapons, not good at hiding **  
ODDS:** 20:1 **  
SCORE:** 7

 **DISTRICT SEVEN FEMALE  
NAME: **Tori N'Rani **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** bow and arrow, some knowledge of edible plants **  
SUMMARY:** Hit the center of the target with an arrow every time and quickly, got several plants right. Seems very smart and quick thinking. Fast. **  
STRENGTHS:** Bow and arrow, speedy, smart, knows common edible plants **  
WEAKNESSES:** No close range weapons, a big competitor- to be taken out early on. Loner **  
ODDS:** 10:1 **  
SCORE:** 9

 **DISTRICT SEVEN MALE  
NAME: **Maxon Binty **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Nunchuks, whips **  
SUMMARY:** Demonstrated excellent usage of nunchucks and whips, nearly killed his fighting partner. **  
STRENGTHS:** Quite violent, no qualms about killing, physically big and threatening, not likely to be liked by sponsors, fast. **  
WEAKNESSES:** Little survival skills, probably a hunter not a hider, arrogant and full of himself **  
ODDS:** 10:1 **  
SCORE:** 10

 **DISTRICT EIGHT FEMALE  
NAME: **Catarina Lox **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Fish hooks, lassoing **  
SUMMARY:** Threw fish hooks pretty well, decent at lassoing. Was on target most of the time. No other skills demonstrated but looks pretty big and strong. **  
STRENGTHS:** Fish hooks, lassoes, strong. **  
WEAKNESSES:** Didn't display any survival skills. **  
ODDS:** 20:1 **  
SCORE:** 7

 **DISTRICT EIGHT MALE  
NAME:** Anagi Menanowa **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Sword, spear, fire building, camouflage

 **SUMMARY:** Alright at sword fighting- beaten by the medium level fighter. Poor aim with spears but lots of strength. Built a decent fire. Tried to do camouflage but failed miserably. **  
STRENGTHS:** Very strong. Could use sword or spear to defend himself. Can build fires. **  
WEAKNESSES:** Would be beaten by most people if the fight took a long time. Too big to hide easily and bad at camouflage **  
ODDS:** 40:1 **  
SCORE:** 5

 **DISTRICT NINE FEMALE  
NAME: **Amber Viena **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Camouflage, climbing, hiding

 **SUMMARY:** Painted her entire body and disappeared completely. We couldn't find her. When her time was up, she was in the rafters, having sneaked up silently. **  
STRENGTHS:** Camouflage, hiding, climbing **  
WEAKNESSES:** No weapons **  
ODDS:** 25:1 **  
SCORE:** 6

 **DISTRICT NINE MALE  
NAME: **Salvatore Limeral **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Daggers, bow, sword

 **SUMMARY:** Quite good with daggers and sword, decent aim with a bow. **  
STRENGTHS:** Throwing daggers, sword fighting **  
WEAKNESSES:** Didn't demonstrate survival skills, probably seen as a big threat **  
ODDS:** 15:1 **  
SCORE:** 7

 **DISTRICT TEN FEMALE  
NAME: **Enna Ashati **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Dart gun, daggers, edible plants, climbing

 **SUMMARY:** Incredible aim with the dart gun and daggers, correctly identified all the plants, climbed very quickly **  
STRENGTHS:** Dart gun, daggers, survival skills, probably liked by sponsors **  
WEAKNESSES:** Small, easily overpowered and useless without weapons **  
ODDS:** 15:1 **  
SCORE:** 7

 **DISTRICT TEN MALE  
NAME: **Rahnil Quar **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Weightlifting, climbing, spear

 **SUMMARY:** Lifted 400 lb weights with little trouble, fast and efficient climbing, performed poorly with the spear. Seems to have fast reaction speed and is pretty smart. **  
STRENGTHS:** Lifting weights, climbing, strength, physically threatening **  
WEAKNESSES:** Didn't seem to be very good with weapons, not very fast, little survival skills **  
ODDS:** 30:1 **  
SCORE:** 5

 **DISTRICT ELEVEN FEMALE  
NAME: **Tess Bailey **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Bow and arrow, building fire, edible plants

 **SUMMARY:** Very talented with bow and arrow, built a good fire although it did take a little while, correctly identified all but one of the plants **  
STRENGTHS:** Bow and arrow, survival skills, pity sponsors? **  
WEAKNESSES:** No close range weapons, very small **  
ODDS:** 25:1 **  
SCORE:** 6

 **DISTRICT ELEVEN MALE  
NAME: **Wren Miago **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Running, climbing, spears, nets, fire building

 **SUMMARY:** Very quiet and fast runner and climber, okay at spears, good with building and using nets, took a long time but built an okay fire. **  
STRENGTHS:** Running, climbing, nets, threatening and strong looking **  
WEAKNESSES:** No close combat weapons, too boring for sponsors **  
ODDS:** 30:1 **  
SCORE:** 5

 **DISTRICT TWELVE FEMALE  
NAME:** Indigo Fynn **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Sword, spear, survival skills

 **SUMMARY:** Excellent with the sword and spear, built a good fire and correctly identified all the plants. **  
STRENGTHS:** Sword, spear, survival skills, likely to get sponsors **  
WEAKNESSES:** Overconfident, brash, a big threat **  
ODDS:** 8:1 **  
SCORE:** 10

 **DISTRICT TWELVE MALE  
NAME: **Ember Glade **  
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED:** Chakram, daggers, darts

 **SUMMARY:** Incredible aim with chakrams, daggers, and darts. **  
STRENGTHS:** Chakram, daggers, darts **  
WEAKNESSES:** Too big to easily hide, didn't display any survival skills **  
ODDS:** 15:1 **  
SCORE:** 8

 **The Scores**

Glory Crowne…...7

Shade Nightingale…...9

Olivia Mei…...9

Rex Boulder…...5

Annella Watt…...3

Nolen Bright…...5

Brooklyn Cassidy…...10

River Cassidy…...6

Sori Bolt…...2

Attorius Spark…...6

Emmelie Kasan…...8

Carter Payne…...7

Tori N'Rani….…...9

Maxon Binty…...10

Catarina Lox…...…...7

Anagi Menanowa...…...5

Amber Viena…...6

Salvatore Limeral..…...7

Enna Ashati…...7

Rahnil Quar…...5

Tess Bailey…...6

Wren Miago…...5

Indigo Fynn…...10

Ember Glade…...8

 **Let me know what y'all think of the scores and please review!**


	7. Private Training Scores

**Chapter Seven**

 **River**

Around seven, Tjara gathered Brooklyn and me in the main room of our suite to watch the training scores. None of us could find Elleston, so we let him be and each grabbed a couch. Finding the remote, Tjara flicked the tv on where the Head Gamemaker, Mr. Raven Pearl, I believed, sat with the Capitol's Hunger Games' announcer and interviewer, Maisi Candell.

"I'm quite excited about this year's batch of tributes," Raven said conversationally. Across from me, I saw Brook stiffen with anger about his use of the words batch of tributes, as if we were just some random kids sentenced to die. "They performed quite well during the private training sessions. Some of the highest scores I've ever seen."

"Oh really," Maisi responded, trying to sound confident. This was only her third year as the Head Announcer and her inexperience was shown in the twitching of her hands in her lap. "Then the games should be interesting!"

"Definitely."

"And what fun things do you have in store this year?" Maisi asked, leaning in, a little smile on her face.

Raven laughed. He was only a few years older than Maisi, but full of bravado and confidence. "Now, now," he said, sounding just a little condescending. I think I saw Maisi flush a little, but it was gone quickly. She was trained in the art of hiding her feelings. "I can't tell you that, but I will say, it's a small arena, so there will be plenty of fighting and death. Stuff everyone wants to see."

I felt my blood go cold. If I was going to win, it would be by survival, not fighting. And Raven had just decreased my chances of being able to hide the whole games. I was so distracted, I didn't catch the rest of their conversation, until Maisi said, "Let's see those scores! I'm sure everyone's been so excited to see them!"

Here we go, I thought. "Alright, alright," Raven laughed. "Up first, Glory Crowne, District One Female, received a score of…" a large seven appeared on the glowing screen behind them, along with a picture of Glory, a fake smile plastered on her face. While a seven was perfectly respectful for most tributes, it was definitely going to be one of the lowest Career scores. She was not going to be happy, and her belief she would need to prove herself would probably make Glory a more vicious competitor. Brook smiled a little and the memory of her and Glory fighting on the floor of the Training Room popped into my mind.

"Shade Nightingale, District One Male," Raven announced, as a handsome blond boy's picture appeared over Glory's behind him. A nine.

"He's going to be a real competitor," Tjara murmured. "Watch out for him." Brook nodded.

Next came the District Two Female, a small, fierce-looking girl named Olivia Mei, who also received a nine. "Her too," Tjara added.

When the scowling, dark-haired boy who'd pulled Glory and Brook apart was brought onto the screen, I nearly laughed out loud. Despite his bravado about being in the careers, his score was a five. Guess he wasn't as tough as he seemed. Probably going for the jack of all trades and just looked like he couldn't do anything well. Tjara and Brook both smiled too. A Career with such a low score would surely be killed by other Careers early on if he didn't die in the Bloodbath. The tributes from Three both received low scores, and I figured I wouldn't have to worry about them.

"I heard that kid, Nolen, he's a Career," Brook said, studying him. "Not for long," Tjara responded. "Both him and the District Two boy, they'll be easy kills. Brook, if you see an opportunity, kill them. The Careers do not need weak links." I'd nearly forgotten Tjara had been a Career in her own games and acted all young and naive until there were only a few tributes left that weren't Careers. Then, one night while she was supposedly on watch, she killed the three other remaining Careers and ran away. If I had to guess, that was probably what she told Brook to do. I was so distracted by my thoughts, I didn't hear them announce Brook's name until I heard gasps coming from Tjara and Brook and looked up at the screen. There, next to my sister's radiant face, was a ten. Tens were almost unheard of in the Games. She must have done really well. "Congratulations," Tjara words broke the silence. "But watch out. You're a major competitor now." Brook nodded, and shushed us as my face, somber and stoic, replaced hers on the screen. Six. Solidly in the middle. Good. I'd fly under the radar for as long as possible and then… I didn't want to think that far ahead. If I even survived the Bloodbath.

Tjara nodded. "That's good. After Brooklyn, everyone will ignore you." Despite what she said, I couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy. Although I knew it would've got me killed, some part of me had still been hoping for the fame and awe of being a high scoring tribute. Some part of me still wanted to beat my sister at something. Some part of me wanted me to be considered a big deal, an actual competitor, someone that people would talk about. I pushed these thoughts away. What was done was done, and I couldn't change that. For my abilities and plan, a six was good.

The girl from five got a two, and the boy got a six. District Six's tributes scored pretty well, with a seven and eight. District Seven's tributes drew gasps from Tjara. The girl, Tori, got a nine and the guy got a ten. "Watch out for those two," Tjara advised my sister and I. I had to admit, the male scared me. He had this tanned, scarred face, with a sadistic smile carved across it. He would definitely be a hunter tribute, and not a merciful one either.

Eight, Nine, Ten, and Eleven's tributes got mediocre scores.

Twelve's received the third round of gasps. Another ten and an eight. "Has there ever been so many tens in one game?" Brook asked Tjara. I studied my twin's face. Earlier, she had looked confident, cheerful. She'd thought she'd be the highest scoring tribute tonight. But now, there were two other tens and she looked a little fearful, anxious.

Tjara shook her head. "I don't think so. Three tens…"

Maisi Candell's voice cut across hers. "Holy… those are some impressive scores. Three tens!"

"Yes, the tributes performed quite well this year. These games should be interesting-"

"I'm going to bed," Brook announced. Tjara nodded silently and turned the screen off.

"Uh, I am too," I said, following my twin from the room. At the end of the corridor, instead of turning into my own bedroom, I followed her into her own. She was sitting on the bed, not crying, just sitting, her head buried in a pillow. She looked up when I came in.

"Hey," I said softly.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Just wanted- wanted to make sure you're okay."

Brook faced me, but instead of smacking me with some sarcastic comment, she spoke truthfully. "I don't know. I thought I'd be fine. I mean, I'm a Career and I got a ten! But then those girls, Seven and Twelve, they also got tens and Glory's out for my blood, and two if the other Careers got nines and Raven said it was a small arena so we're going to be fighting constantly and… and you. What are we going to do? We can't both win the games and we know that. We've been putting it off and I don't want to talk about it, but we have to. I don't want to die, Riv, but I don't want you to either. I… I want to go home. I want to go back to the way it used to be when Mom wasn't crazy and we had jobs and we were all okay.

I stared at her, cold realization pouring over me. She hadn't seen… "Brook, Mom… Mom's dead."

Brook stared at me, shaking her head slowly. "No, no she isn't! NO SHE ISN'T!"

"She… she tried to come for us. Tried to save us, to say good-bye. But the peacekeepers… they shot her. Called her crazy woman and pulled the trigger and…"

"I hate the peacekeepers. I hate President Darke and I hate the Capitol and I hate these stupid Hunger Games!" Brook screamed, her voice echoing around the large room.

I nodded. "I do too, Brook. I do too."


	8. Interviews

**Chapter Eight**

 **Brooklyn**

Later…

After my mental breakdown, River and I laid in the bed for a long time, talking. We spoke about our best memories of Mom, the way she'd play games with us and cook us dinner and dress us in matching clothes and all the other stuff she did. In a way, it was a memorial. A memorial for a woman who'd been shot and left on a dusty street for the crows because she'd tried to save her children from unjust and cruel deaths. Eventually, we fell asleep holding each other, in a way only twins can do.

We were awakened early in the morning by a sharp rap on the door. Tjara. "Brooklyn? Are you up? I can't find your brother."

"Mmmhh, he's in here," I yawned. "We were talking."  
"Okay, well, your stylists are here. It's time to get ready for the interviews."

I told her we'd be out in a minute and untangled myself from the sheets. While most siblings I knew hated to be around each other for more than a few minutes, River and I'd formed a bond when Mom had begun to get sick. When we were younger, we'd crawl into each others' beds all the time. If I had a bad dream or failed a test, River was always the one who I went too. So it wasn't uncommon that we slept together. I shook my brother awake and he blinked groggily up at me.

"C'mon," I said gently. "We have to get ready for the interviews."

He nodded at me and pushed the sheets away. In an unexpected gesture, he pulled me close to his warm body. I could feel his heart beating under his muscled chest, tanned from long days in the sun. He still smelled like the boy I knew from home, of sea salt and fish, which he managed to pull off. His arms wrapped around me and we inhaled together. I closed my eyes for a moment, then forced myself to pull away. I hated to, wanted to stay in his embrace forever, but that was not an option. We were tributes in the Twenty Seventh Annual Hunger Games. We had to be strong.

Tjara was waiting for me at the door, along with my stylist, Jin Arala, and my style team. They'd been the ones to design my stunning tribute parade dress, so I was confident in their skills. River entered the hallway behind me, shutting the door to the room, and was greeted by his own enthusiastic stylist team.

We were lead into our own separate rooms. Neither Jin nor his two helpers, Kamila or Austri, were big on conversing, so there was very little talk as I was prepped. At first, Jin disappeared to allow Kamila and Austri to make my body into what they called "an empty canvas." They washed me for a long time in a steamy bath that I enjoyed quite a lot. Various bubbles floated around me and released a cinnamon scent when popped. Although their vigorous washing was slightly painful, I tried to ignore it. I had to be tough. Following my bath, Kamila and Austri shaved all parts of my body again, leaving an uncomfortable tingling in my limbs. My hair was cut and my nails were clipped into perfect ovals. Fragrant soaps and lotions smelling of unfamiliar Capitol smells were rubbed all over my body, making it soft and shiny. A layer of base make-up was applied to my face to get it ready for the real make-up. Most girls would have loved this kind of treatment, but I was just bored. I wanted to train more, familiarize myself with the other tributes and their skills. I wanted to spend more time with my brother- we only had a few days left together. Finally, Kamila and Austri finished with me. They wrapped me in a thin, fluffy robe and retreated to the edges of the room to give Jin his space. The first thing he did was my make-up. It was mostly blue-white shading, covered in a thin layer of matching glitter. Against my darkened skin, the make-up stood out and gave me a ghost-like appearance, highlighting my eyes and lips. I didn't look like myself and didn't like it too much, but pretty tributes always got more sponsors than ugly ones. As Jin worked on me, Tjara entered, examining me closely.

"We need to talk about your interview angle," she began, pulling up a chair to sit beside me. She was dressed in her usual simple blouse and pants, accented with a scarf around her neck. Her short dark hair curled around her neck and head in a stylish, unique way.

"'Kay," I replied. "What do you think?"

"You're a Career," Tjara stated thoughtfully. "But you're not bloodthirsty or vicious. You did not attend any academy or train to be a tribute. You want to be seen as someone who's not to be messed with but not crazy for blood. You don't want to get sympathy sponsors, you want people who truly think you can win. Because you have a chance, Brooklyn."

I nodded, processing her words. It took me a moment to realize what she'd just said. I had a chance, she thought. I had a chance. I had a chance to win the games. To be the victor. I should have been sick at the thought of my victory meaning the death of twenty-three other teens, including my brother, but all I could think of was that Tjara thought I had a chance to win.

"Sooo, strong, ambitious, willing to do whatever it takes, but honorable," I summed up. "Merciful, humane, but at the same time tough."

Tjara looked awkward and it came to me that being both ambitious and merciful was not an easy angle to play by. Well, I've never been one for taking the easy road out.

 **River**

I took a deep breath. In just a few minutes, I'd be on stage in front of a live audience with Maisi Candell, the announcer of the Hunger Games. Tjara had instructed me on what to do, but I still wasn't sure what I was doing. Basically, she thought my only chance was to blend in and maybe get a few pity sponsors. Yep, my sister would be the crowd pleaser and I'd be the wallflower. Just like always.

I heard Maisi announcing to the audience the boy from Three. The audience cheered, but not as much as they had for One and Two's tributes, all of whom were dressed in fancy, flashy outfits that showed off their muscular, fit bodies. I glanced down at my own outfit. While it was nothing compared to my tribute parade outfit, I preferred it much more. I was dressed in a simple blue button-down tucked into tan pants. The pant legs were rolled up just the way we did back in Four on the docks, to keep our clothes from getting wet. My hair had purposefully been ruffled, to make it look like I'd just spent a day out on the water catching fish. My stylist, Calina, thought I looked hot but I just felt happy to be in normal clothes again.

There was a muffled, somewhat reluctant cheer that signaled the end of the interview. The boy from Three appeared a moment later, having been shepherded off the stage. His face was shining with sweat under the bright lights and I felt bad for the kid. He was supposed to be a Career but there was no way he'd survive.

I heard my sister's name announced and Brook, as graceful as a dancer, was escorted onto the stage. Her dress was long and flowing and had the color and texture one associated with moonlight on the water. She looked amazing. I had no doubt people all over the Capitol were already falling for her, the Ocean Queen from Four, as folks had taken to calling her. Next to her, I looked like a street rat.

Behind me, other tributes were milling, talking in hushed voices. I heard someone call my name and turned to see Emmelie, the girl from Six who'd I'd met during training. She and her fellow tribute from Six, Carter, had been open to me joining their alliance, so I did. Emmelie seemed really sweet, but I knew she was very talented when it came to survival skills. For outer districts, she and Carter had done well in their private training sessions, even better than some of the Careers.

"Hey," she greeted me. I noticed Carter hovering a few feet behind her. Although he never spoke much, he was good with the sword and incredibly protective of Emmelie.

"Hi," I responded, fidgeting with my hands a little.

"So, we were wondering, what your interview angle was. Carter's going for a silent hunter kind of thing, and I'm playing the sweet, shy girl," Emmelie informed me.

Before I could respond, I heard the inevitable sound of cheers and applause, louder and more raucous than any other tribute had received. Then it was my turn. "Ah, blend in, probably," I muttered, before taking my place by the door. Brook received a standing ovation before time constraints finally pushed her off. She was grinning like crazy when she passed by me, laughing excitedly.

"Good luck, Riv," she said, placing a butterfly light kiss on her cheek. I'd have to watch the rerun of her interview later. Oh, wait. Later, I had an appointment. With death. How could I've forgotten?

"Yes, yes. Now, may I welcome… River Cassidy, District Four's male tribute, to the stage!" Maisi Candell announced from onstage.

And just like that, I was on stage, facing thousands of people, bright lights on my face, talking to Maisi Candell, just a few days away from the Hunger Games.

The first thing I noticed was how hot it was. The stage lights were already making me sweat, and the anticipation wasn't helping. Numbly, I took a seat in the cushioned chair set up for the tributes. I couldn't see much of the audience, just the first few rows, where I spotted Calina and the rest of my stylists, Brook's designers, Tjara Max, Elleston Ruby (who I was surprised actually showed up) and the rest of the tributes prep teams and trainers. My mouth went suddenly dry and my fingers were running up and down the chair in nervousness. I had to sit on them to get them to sit still. I was so distracted, I missed Maisi's first question and had to ask her to repeat it. The crowd tittered.

"I said, what do you think of the Capitol so far?" she replied, smiling a little bit.

"Oh, um, it's nice, I guess," I replied. The crowd giggles again and I feel my face go red.

"So, you and your sister are both in the games. Quite a crowd pleaser, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Yah. She always loved the spotlight. She deserves it. She's- she's incredible" I murmured. I want to say she deserved better than to die in an arena fighting other kids, but I can't muster up the courage. To do so would be to defy the Capitol and I know I can't do that.

"What about your family? With two kids in the games, that must be tough," Maisi asked.

"They- they're dead. We don't have any other family," I told Maisi.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Maisi said, with a note of sympathy. I thought of Mom and suddenly, I didn't feel like talking anymore. For the rest of the interview, I give Maisi one word answers. When she finally announced my time was up, I could not have felt more relieved. I received a fourth of the applause that Brook did, but I didn't care. I hurried off quickly. Emmelie nodded at me when I leave the stage, but I could tell she was frustrated. I just lost any sponsors I might've gotten. Oh, well. It's not like I was going to win anyway.

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**


	9. The Bloodbath

**Chapter Nine**

 **River**

I don't think I've ever been as scared as I was when I awoke the following morning. Today, I'd be going into the Hunger Games. Today, I would take part in the Bloodbath. Today, I would live or die. When I'm scared or nervous, I retreat into myself, which was what I did then. My thoughts consumed me as Calina silently dressed me in this year's tribute outfits. It was made of a light material that was made to dry quickly. So the arena would probably be hot and have lots of water. At least that was good. Back in Four, we were used to the merciless heat and every child was taught how to swim from a young age. One of the only things that I was better than Brook at was distance swimming. While she could swim fast, I could swim for hours without stopping.

Tjara and Brook joined me at the elevators, the latter dressed in the same suit and with the same stony-faced expression as me. Brook and I were silent as we boarded the hover planes that would take us to the arena. Tjara chattered quietly about some strategies we could employ, but I couldn't pay attention to her. When we touched down again, peacekeepers boarded and began pulling us in different directions. A tall man began to push me down the ramp when I realized I'd forgotten to say goodbye to Brook. I didn't know if I'd survive the Bloodbath, so I wanted to speak to her one last time. I twisted around and spotted her, being dragged down the ramp a little ways away from me. Yanking my arm away from the surprised peacekeeper, I darted through the crowd to Brook, who'd done the same when she spotted me coming. I took her hand in mine. It was small and rough with callouses, but my sister's nonetheless. I knew it like I knew my own hand. Looking up, I took in her face one last time. Those beautiful eyes, light freckles, long blond hair, lips that were always smirking a little. She looked so much like our mother.

I began to speak. "Brook, I just wanted to say good-"

She put her hand to my lips, silencing me. "No. Good luck. And survive. We'll figure it out. Together." And then she was gone, pulled away by her own peacekeeper. A hand clasping my arm caused me to yelp slightly in pain as my peacekeeper yanked me away.

We were in a building, which I realized was underneath the arena. I was led through a series of hallways and before I knew it, I was being escorted into the small room with a glass elevator that would take me into the arena. Calina and Elleston appeared and approached me slowly as if I were a frightened animal.

"Hey, River," Calina murmured. "You ready?" I wasn't, but I nodded at her anyway. We stood there in awkward silence until an automated voice filled the room.

"Tributes, you have ten seconds to board the elevators. Ten, nine…"

"Well, goodbye, I guess," I muttered.

"Don't die," Elleston said bluntly. He was about to add more, probably something I didn't want to hear, but Calina silenced him with a glare.

"We'll try to get you some sponsors," she assured me, but I knew her attempts would be fruitless. No one would want to waste money on me.

"Four, three…" the automated voice announced. Calina stepped forward to give me a quick hug, which I awkwardly returned, before stepping into the glass tube. The doors slid closed and the elevator began to slide upwards. I turned away from Calina and Elleston and braced myself for the worst.

The bright sunlight nearly blinded me as my platform slid into place with a click. I raised my hand to shield my eyes as I glanced around. My competitors and I were arranged in a large circle, each of us on spoke-like things radiating from a center island. The spokes were wide enough that one could easily run along without having to worry about falling. All the spokes were connected by a winding series of thinner bridges. I glanced down and nearly gasped aloud. Instead of being on water or something like that, the whole array of platforms simply floated over thin air. All I could see below me was a thick bank of clouds, which assured me that anyone who fell would not survive. Of course.

A man's voice echoed out from hidden speakers, filling the whole arena. "May the twenty-seventh annual Hunger Games begin! Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight…"

The air was hot and humid like I'd predicted, and I was already sweating a little. A bright "sun" filled the arena with warm light. Pushing my hand through my hair, I squinted at the center island. From what I could see, it looked to be tropical with sandy beaches, luscious forests, splashing waterfalls, and at the very center, a large mountain.

"Fifty-two, fifty-one, fifty…"

I glanced around to examine the tributes on either side of me. To my left was the girl from Nine. I didn't believe she'd be much of a threat, she'd only received a six in training. Then again, that was what I'd gotten, so I couldn't judge.

"Forty-four, forty-three, forty-two…"

To my right was the boy from one. Frick. He'd received a nine, he'd be trouble. At least the nearest connecting bridge between our spokes was a decent distance away, although I had no doubt that he could kill me just as easily with a long distance weapon than anything else.

"Thirty-seven, thirty-six, thirty-five…"

There didn't seem to be an actual cornucopia, to my surprise. Instead, various supplies from backpacks to swords to coils of rope were scattered along the bridges and spokes, held on by little hooks. The closer to the island, the better stuff was and the more of it there appeared to be. Of course, the Gamemakers had made it so that in order to run to safety, we'd have to run through the danger zone first.

"Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…"

I scanned the circle of tributes for Brook, to no avail. She must've been on the far side of the island. Oh well. It wasn't like we were joining up.

"Twenty-three, twenty-two, twenty-one…"

Next, I looked for Emmelie and Carter. Thankfully, Emmelie was only four tributes to my left and Carter was two to my right. That made things easier. I saw Emmelie was mouthing something at me. The distance made it hard to make out what she was saying, but I caught the word _mountain_. She was probably saying run for the mountain. That made sense. I turned to my right, caught Carter's eye, and mouthed _meet up at the mountain_. He nodded and bent down, ready to run.

"Sixteen, fifteen, fourteen…"

My heart was pumping fast. I felt shaky. My stomach was twisting itself into knots. I took a few deep breaths, tried to calm myself. I heard a boom. I knew what that meant: one of the tributes had fallen from their platform and set off the land mines. In the corner of my vision, sparks of flame and flesh drifted down towards the ominous clouds.

"Ten, nine, eight…"

I lowered myself into a runner's stance. My gaze landed on a backpack, only a few steps away. I knew I should retrieve it. I knew I would need to run towards the center. I knew Carter would cover our backs, we'd discussed our plan earlier. He was willing to die to save Emmelie and me. I just needed to avoid people, avoid getting into a fight. I was pretty fast. Maybe I could make it to the island. Once I reached the woods, I'd be as safe as I could get.

"Three, two, one, go! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

 **Brooklyn**

I had to be brave. I'd have to kill. That was the only way I'd survive. As Raven Pearl announced the start of the games, I heard a click as the landmines were turned off. I pictured my mother's sweet, gentle face, thought _forgive me_ , and launched myself off my platform. Around me, I heard the sounds of metal clashing, kids screaming, boots thunking. Just ten seconds into the games and the air already smelled of blood and sweat. I'd been lucky enough to be only a few steps away from a trident which I seized and whirled to face the girl from District Eleven, who'd crept up behind me. I saw her expression change to fear as she realized who I was. I felt bad, she was too young to die as one of the several twelve-year-olds chosen for these games. A quick smack of my trident sent her over the edge to what I hoped was a painless death.

A sudden pit appeared in my stomach. I'd just killed someone and a young one at that.

"Hey, Four, quit standing there!" Glory yelled at me. I nodded. If I wanted to survive, I'd have to kill. But at least I would be merciful and give quick deaths.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the boy from seven, Maxon, leaning down. At first, I thought he was dying, but then realized he was leaning over something. As I watched, he began cutting long slits. I heard screaming. He was torturing someone! I wouldn't let that happen but was distracted by the boy from nine who engaged me in a battle of swipes. I disarmed him and turned to look for Maxon, who'd disappeared. I raced over to where he'd been, leaping over a body on the way there, unable to convince myself to figure out who they were. The girl from Three was lying on the ground, clearly dead. But what horrified me was her missing hands and feet. It occurred to me that Maxon had done this on purpose, before killing her, just to cause pain. Bile rose up in my throat at the sight of her blood pooling out around her like a devil's halo. I hated people who caused pain for the fun of it. I would kill him.

I was distracted from my murderous thoughts by shouting. This time, it was Shade.

"What are you doing? Get moving!" he yelled. At this point, most of the tributes had fled to the island or were dead. I spotted a fleeing tribute- the boy from eight. I swiped at him, forcing him to stumble back onto Glory's blade. She smirked at me then ran off. Just then, I realized how tired I was. The heat of the arena had made me sweat a lot, and all the running and fighting wasn't helping. Footsteps behind me alerted me to the fact Olivia was approaching. She spoke to me gently, as if we hadn't just killed a whole bunch of people.

"Brooklyn? We're going to gather all the supplies and meet up on the beach. You want to check this area with me?"

"Yeah," I muttered. Pushing my damp hair back from my face, I glanced down at myself and realized I was covered in the girl from Three's blood. I'd have to wash that off later. I looked over at Olivia, who appeared to be unharmed. She was holding a deadly looking whip, a backpack slung over her shoulder. Her hair had come free of its braid and was billowing around her small face.

I could feel my own hair, sticky with blood, clinging to my neck. The humidity had forced it into curls that I brushed away as I glanced around. Besides Shade and Glory, who were collecting supplies, and Nolen, who was protecting our already huge piles of weapons and food and such, I couldn't see any other tributes. Suddenly, I remembered River. Had he survived? Please, let him have survived.

"Over here," Olivia said. "There's a whole bunch of daggers." I followed her as the cannons began to boom for the fallen tributes. Eight cannons. Eight dead kids. And I'd been at least partly responsible for two of them.

We spent the rest of the day collecting, stockpiling, and organizing our supplies. When night began to fall, Shade was assigned as the guard until midnight. Although the sun was no longer blazing, the temperature hadn't fallen and to make things worse, bugs began appearing, biting us mercilessly. Although they weren't poisonous or anything, as far as I knew, they were obnoxious and I scratched myself bloody because of them.

Despite the heat and bugs, I fell asleep almost instantly and was awakened a little later by Olivia. "They're showing the dead tributes," she informed me quietly. Sitting up on my sleeping roll, I glanced towards the sky where the Capitol's symbol was glowing. The anthem drowned out the buzz of the bugs and the whistling of the wind in the trees. I still felt sweaty and gross and promised myself I'd try to find a river or something in the morning that I could use to wash up. Around me, the other Careers had awoken and were gazing up at the sky, silent. The first face to appear was Rex, the district two male, who was supposed to have been a Career but only received a five.

"Glad he's gone," Glory laughed. "We don't need weak links." I saw her look straight at Nolen, who'd also gotten a five. He shivered under her stare. I was willing to bet he was regretting becoming a Career, he was like a sheep in a wolf's den. He'd be dead soon.

The rest of us nodded our agreement but kept quiet. The next face was Nolen's district partner Annella. She was the girl I'd seen Maxon torturing and it hurt to see her smiling face, still innocent of the horrors that faced her. I gulped in a breath as her face faded into darkness. If River had died, he'd be up there next.

I nearly laughed with joy as a face that was not River's, appeared in the sky. He was alive! I nearly sighed in relief, before I I realized all the other Careers were staring at me. I coughed awkwardly.

"Oh, guess my brother's alive," I muttered.

I swear I heard Glory mutter, "Not for long," to Shade.

If they laid a hand on my brother, I would destroy them.

 **Chapter 9.5**

 **Requiem**

 **24th Place**

District Nine Female: Amber Viena Age: 12 Score: 6

Stepped off her platform too early, killed by landmines

 **23rd Place**

District Two Male: Rex Boulder Age: 18 Score: 5

Stabbed to death by Glory Crowne (1F)

 **22nd Place**

District Eleven Female: Tess Bailey Age: 12 Score: 6

Knocked off the platform by Brooklyn Cassidy (4F)

 **21st Place**

District Three Female: Annella Watt Age: 15 Score: 3

Bloodloss from multiple stabbings from Maxon Binty (7M)

 **20th Place**

District Five Female: Sori Bolt Age: 14 Score: 2

Blow to the head from Shade Nightingale (1M)

 **19th Place**

District Eight Male: Anagi Menanowa Age: 14 Score: 5

Impaled by Glory Crowne (1F)

 **18th Place**

District Eight Female: Catarina Lox Age: 13 Score: 7

Yanked off the platform by a whip via Olivia Mei (2F)

 **17th Place**

District Five Male: Attorious Spark Age: 15 Score: 6

Decapitated by Maxon Binty (7M)


	10. The First Night

**Chapter Ten**

 **Shoutout to goldenalpha: Thank you for your reviews and support!**

 **River's POV below takes place at the same time of Brooklyn's POV in the last chapter.**

 **River**

The moment the horn had sounded, signaling the start of the games, Emmelie and I raced for the center island. I didn't turn around when sounds of fighting and pain and death filled the humid air around me. I just kept running, long past when I would've been tired, thanks to the adrenaline coursing through my body like a river of fire.

I heard Emmelie scream, "duck" and instinctively fell to the ground, just as a spear whistled past me, only inches away. If I'd been standing straight up, I would've been impaled for sure.

Once I reached the forest, and relative safety, I slowed down a little. I managed to grab the pack near me and was suddenly thankful I had for when I pulled it off my back; a long arrow had punctured it, although the contents of the bag had prevented it from touching me.

I scanned my surroundings. I couldn't see anybody, but that didn't mean anything. The clang of swords clashing had died down, replaced with the sounds of the forest. It had been made to sound natural, with birds calling each other and trees rustling and, in the distance, water flowing. It was hot enough that the air seemed to glisten and lay thick across everything like a wet blanket. I was already sweating like a cow in the summer heat.

I took a moment to calm myself before I realized I needed a plan. I was pretty sure Emmelie had said to meet at the mountain, so that's where I headed. Scanning the trees around me, I noticed the thick canopy that would hide any climber. Spotting a hanging vine a little ways off, I raced over to it and quickly made my way up into the thick, leafy layer of wide leaves and hanging vines and little flowers that were undoubtedly poisonous. From there, it wasn't difficult to find the mountain in the distance, rising into the clouds, and make my way, painfully slowly, over to it. When I reached a clearing just before the ground tilted into a steep upward slope, I found a nook, hidden away, to watch for Emmelie and Carter.

At one point, my gaze had alighted upon the boy from Nine as he stumbled across the clearing only a few lengths away from the base of my tree. His breath had come in loud pants and I could see a hastily tied bandage around his left leg, the apparent injury causing him to limp awkwardly. It would have been an easy kill if I knew how to shoot and was willing to kill someone, though I wasn't. With that kind of injury, he'd be dead soon enough.

A little while later, as I was beginning to doze off thanks to the heat and my exhaustion, I heard the sounds of another tribute padding around below. I glanced down to see Emmelie and Carter enter the clearing. Although both were unwilling to talk and risk being heard, I could see them searching, probably for me. I realized this was a good strategy, not talking too loud, so I quickly made my way down the tree trunk and whispered a greeting to them at the bottom.

They nodded at me, both clearly relieved that I'd survived. I too was happy to see them, they were my only chances.

"We need to find a safe spot to camp out," Emmelie said. "I think somewhere on the mountain with a good vantage point, but not easy to spot."

"That's a good idea," I agreed. "No one's hurt, right?"

"Carter got shot in the leg and I've got a cut, not that deep though," Emmelie responded. "We stopped to bandage each other up, but…" she glanced at Carter and I understood she was worried about his wound, but just didn't want to say anything to embarrass him. "What about you?"

"I'm good," I said. "I made it to the forest without getting hurt and from there, I, uh, climbed here. Through the trees."

Emmelie looked impressed. "Nice. But we should get going."

I nodded my agreement and the three of us started up the mountain. I noticed Carter wincing while we climbed a particularly steep stretch of land. Clearly, his leg was hurting him more than he bothered to admit. Silently, I offered him my arm to lean on, which he gratefully accepted as we continued on. A few steps ahead of us, Emmelie was leading the way, seemingly unafraid. I noticed she'd found a pack too and Carter had a broadsword fastened to his back, within easy reach, though I doubted his fighting ability with such a bad limp.

After examining several possibilities as a place to camp, Emmelie decided on a small cave, hidden from above by an overhang but still providing an excellent view of the arena sprawled out in front of us. We were pretty high up, having climbed for almost half the day. Another plus of our cave was at first, it appeared to be only a shallow opening in the ground that would deter most of our competitors while in reality, there was a decent sized back room accessible by a passageway disguised by a curtain of moss. If I hadn't known it was there, I never would've thought anything of it, but I guess Emmelie had a sharper eye for these kinds of things then I did.

As night began to fall, bring incessant bugs but no breaks in the heat, Carter and I examined the contents of mine and Emmelie's bags and began to build a small camp while Emmelie went looking for plants we could eat, as well as healing herbs for Carter's wound. My throat felt like a bird's nest, all dry and cracked, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want to be labeled as the complainer.

Inside my pack were a sleeping bag, an unfortunately empty water flask, a small bottle of iodine, a hunting knife, and a coil of rope. Emmelie's contained similar contents, but instead of the iodine and hunting knife, she had a bottle of pain killer which only contained a few doses, and a roll of bandages, which she must have used to wrap Carter's leg.

For the first time, I noticed Carter's breathing had become quite labored and strained. I looked over at him and realized he'd gone white, his eyelids fluttering. Darting around him, I examined his leg, which was much worse than Emmelie had originally said. I gave him a bit of the painkiller, not wasting a single precious drop, before gently unpeeling the hastily wrapped bandages.

At the sight, I inhaled sharply. The front end of the arrow was buried deep in his leg, the end having been snapped off. Blood had soaked the white cloth wrapping and was now forming a pool on the floor of the cave.

"Is… is it bad?" Carter murmured.

Some people, like Brook, would've told him the truth, that it looked nasty and painful and wasn't going to get better any time soon, but I wasn't going to.

"It's, uh, it's fine," I assured him, reaching for some new bandages. "Just get some rest, okay? Emmelie will be back soon with some food." And water, I hoped. I did the best I could to bandage his leg, but I was seriously worried. If his leg got infected, it would never heal. And Emmelie and I couldn't afford to drag around a half-dead boy twice Emmelie's weight, no matter how much we liked Carter.

He nodded, his eyes closing, as he drifted into sleep. His breathing became more steady and I sat back on my heels. I watched him for a moment before soft footsteps outside startled me out of my daze. Emmelie entered behind me and, upon seeing Carter's still form, scampered to my side.

"Is he alive?" She asked worriedly, laying a hand on his arm where one could find one's pulse. I could see the panic and fear in her eyes. I assumed they'd known each other before they'd come to the games, they were too close not too. "Please, let him be alive."

"Yeah, he's okay," I said, but the words didn't sound too promising.

"Well, I found some cedar berries, those should help with keeping infection away, and, oh and there's a patch of wild blueberries, not too far from here, I brought back as many as I could," she went on about the stuff she'd found, all the while carefully mixing and applying a poultice of crushed leaves and berries to his leg. It looked disgusting to me, a mash of dark juices and ripped stems, but I figured she knew what she was doing more than I did, so I didn't say anything.

"I'm going to try to find a river or something for water," I announced.

"That's a good idea," Emmelie agreed, not looking up. "I didn't see anything, but I didn't want to go too far."

I departed silently. In the doorway, I turned and looked at the two of them. Emmelie had a look of worried concentration on her face, making her look much older. Her short dark red hair had escaped from its ponytail, falling in layers to her shoulder and framing her face. Suddenly, I wanted to return to her side, to push her hair behind her ear, to sit by her side, to stay with the only people I could trust in this whole arena, besides Brook.

Pushing these feelings away, I left the cave, all my senses on alert, and emerged into the twilight of my first day in the arena.

 **Brooklyn**

After watching the faces of all my now dead competitors, I didn't feel like sleeping, so I offered to take over the watch from Shade. He nodded gratefully and I took up a position leaning against a tree a few yards from the Career's main campsite. Glory glared at me, distrust filling her eyes.

"I don't think we should trust her," she announced. Olivia, Nolan, and Shade stared at her.

"We can't trust any of us," Olivia retorted. "But Brook's not going to try anything tonight. It's too early on in the games."

Glory grunted, but Olivia's point was a good one. She settled down, slightly reluctantly, and glared at me for a moment longer before turning away from me. Olivia returned to her sleeping role and lay still, a little too still to actually be asleep. Nolan joined Olivia, who he probably (incorrectly) believed was the least dangerous of the Careers, on the ground and Shade sat down next to Glory.

I returned my gaze to the woods. One of the nice things about being a Career is that no one wanted to attack us, at least not on the first night, so I figured I was good, although the boy from Seven, Maxon, might've been crazy enough to try.

The woods were creepily still and silent, but I knew there were eyes out there, eyes watching us, me, waiting for the right moment to strike. I reached for my trident, the sleek weapon feeling natural in my hand, just like it always did. I gave it an experimental jab, happy to find even the Capitol's trident felt like an extension of my arm. It made me feel better to know I could strike down anyone who came close.

Although I felt tired, I was no longer sleepy, so I spent my watch pacing around the camp, observing the nearby woods. When I made my escape, I would need to know the best way to go, as well as how to throw any remaining Careers off my tracks. I wanted to go hunting, to look for water and supplies, but I wasn't going to abandon the Careers yet. If anyone woke up and saw that I had left, no one would trust me again.

After a couple of hours of taking in every detail around me, I settled down against a tree. The sand beneath my hands felt grainy and hard, not quite right. Imagining the sandy beaches of home, I wished I could have just one more day in District Four. To go fishing and swimming, to go sailing on my own little boat, the Horizon, with River and race along the rocky cliff and splash down into the clear water. To dive deep down and look at all the colorful fish for as long as I could before my breath ran out.

The wood behind my back was solid, the little scraps of bark digging into my back the only thing keeping me out of sleep. My eyes fluttered dangerously and I scrambled to my feet, alarmed. I'd almost fallen asleep while on guard. Inhaling a deep breath of the crisp night air, I returned to pacing, mentally berating myself. I couldn't fall asleep. That would mean certain death. Then again, so would almost everything else in this arena.

About an hour later, Olivia relieved me of my watch and I sank down into my sleeping role. I fell asleep quickly, but my dreams were full of the faces of the dead tributes, screaming in agony. My mother's face appeared a few times, begging me to save her. I reached out, tried to grab her hand, but she slipped away into the mist. Then River's face solidified, looking stern just like he did when he was scolding me for defacing a picture of President Sapphire Darke or going for a midnight sail.

I tossed and turned the whole night and was grateful when Glory shook me awake roughly, relieving me of my disturbing nightmares.

"We're going hunting today," she informed me, turning away to grab her sword. "It's time to kill some tributes."


End file.
